World Book Day returns for its 20th year on March 2nd and school and nurseries across the country are encouraging kids to “Do Something Booky”. World Book Day is a worldwide celebration of authors, books, illustrators and most importantly reading so choose a book and get involved. We’ve got all the details of what happens on the day, competitions and vital World Book Day Costume ideas to ensure your child looks the part.

Competition Update: We are giving two lucky winners the chance to win a Kids World Book Day Costume worth up to £24.99 so enter now. Closes Sunday 26th February and includes free guaranteed delivery for World Book Day. Enter at the bottom of the post.

What happens on the day?

The most popular way to celebrate World Book Day is to dress up as a character from your favorite book. This might be a hero or heroine from a book that you’ve read recently or a timeless book character. Harry Potter, Horrible Histories, Where’s Wally and Disney are popular themes from modern literature whilst Roald Dahl, The Gruffalo, Robin Hood are timeless classics. AA Milne's Winnie the Pooh remains a firm favorite for younger children at nursery and pre-school. Remember to learn a little about the character you dress up as, because Book quizzes, matching characters to authors and literacy quotes are common activities on the day.

Roald Dahl is famous for creating characters including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, crazy Willy Wonker, studious Matilda, the terrifying Miss Trunchbull and Fantastic Mr Fox. Following the release of The BFG (Big Friendly Giant) film last year, we are predicting that the young giant will be a popular choice. Find out more about all the Roald Dahl characters in a special post that we posted for Roald Dahl Day.

Join Harry, Hermione and Ron on a magical adventure as the three budding wizards progress through Hogwarts School of magic. J.K.Rowling is famous for her detailed narrative enabling children to build up the character using their own imagination. Transform into a wizard and follow in the footsteps of Harry this year for World Book Day in licensed Harry Potter Costumes.

Where’s Wally was created nearly 30 years ago by British illustrator Martin Handford, and he is now a national icon. The character appears in over 7 books wearing his famous red and white top and blue trousers. Wally has since been joined by Wilma, Wenda, Odlaw and Woof, Wallys dog in countless illustrated adventures. This is a great option for kids who want to stand out at school and think of the fun you can have playing hide and seek in the school playground.

Prepare to embark on an adventure into the deep, dark woods with your forest friends under the disguise that Grufallo is watching over you. The Grufallo, half grizzly Bear and half Buffalo created by Julia Donaldson is a popular choice for nursery and pre school children. The Travis Designs Monster Cape can be worn over your school clothes and doubles up as a rather impressive Gruffalo costume.

Horrible Histories books engage children in historical events through gruesome stories told in a tongue-in-cheek manner which makes history fun. The illustrated books have created a number of horrific and disgusting historical characters including Queens, Kings, Peasants, Tudors, Victorians, Knights, Vikings and the infamous Guy Fawkes. Choose your favorite historical character for World Book Day.

Winnie The Pooh

AA Milne’s Winnie The Pooh, is a childhood classic for many and is the perfect choice for younger children at nursery and pre-school. Pooh Bear, Eeyore, Tigger and Piglet are some of the most celebrated book characters. Shop the quality Travis Designs range of Disney Baby costumes for your little one.

Treasure Island and Pirates of the Caribbean have made pirates a popular choice for World Book Day. Set sail on the high seas and celebrate literature at the same time as perfecting your pirate slang. There are many different options for this theme from a Jack Sparrow costume to a pirate kit including a sword, eye patch and bandanna. Ahoy there matey!!

Transform into a fairy-tale character on World Book Day including Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, The Red Queen or Robin Hood. Dressing up as a classic fairy-tale characters will enable your children to take part in fanciful adventures that differ from modern classics.

The Tiger Who Came to Tea, Jungle Book and more recently Dinosaurs love Underpants has made dressing up as animal a further option for World Book Day. Check out our fun range of tiger and dinosaur onesies and our other animal costumes that are perfect for cheeky little monkeys.